Continuous loop suture and button assemblies are commonly used during orthopedic surgery for bone-tendon-bone, single-bundle soft tissue, and double-bundle soft tissue fixation, such as during cruciate reconstruction. For example, during anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, a bone-tendon-bone graft is commonly positioned within both the femur and tibia bones. These grafts are often secured to a continuous loop/button assembly, which are in turn anchored to a bone. One example of a loop/button assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,533,802 to Bojarski et al. (“Bojarksi”). Bojarski references a few different general methods of attaching a button to a continuous loop: (a) start with a closed loop suture and then capture the button by threading loop sections through openings in the button or wrapping the loop sections around channels/arms of the button (e.g., Bojarksi FIG. 12), (b) start with a thread having a leading end and utilize an automated winding machine to continuously wrap the leading end through apertures in the button to form a closed loop, such as disclosed in WO 99/47079 to Bryant (“Bryant”), or (c) provide a suture with two open ends, thread and/or wrap the suture to an anchor button and then tie the open ends together, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,894 to Ferragamo (“Ferragamo”). The above described methods of making continuous loop and button assemblies result in products that are susceptible to breaking over time due to mechanical stress.
In light of the disadvantages of the prior art loop/button products, it is an object of the teachings herein to provide continuous loop and button assemblies and methods of making the same that are mechanically stronger than prior products.